Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old

The streets of Shibuya blazed with afternoon light, loud and restless as ever.

Yamada Kenta trailed behind Hazuki, watching her push open one bookshop door after another — and walk out of each one empty-handed.

She reached up and brushed her bob fringe aside, a small, wordless gesture that said everything.

"Sorry for dragging you around like this again."

Hazuki glanced back at him. The October chill had arrived, but their non-stop shop-hopping had worked up enough warmth that fine beads of sweat had begun to form at her temples.

"It's fine," Yamada Kenta said, hands in his pockets.

"It's not like I had anything going on this weekend."

That was half true, half not.

He genuinely had no plans — he'd been thinking of spending the day with [Sailor Uniform-chan], really getting into it, when the call from Hazuki-san had come in and shot him right out of the sky mid-flight.

When he found out she was also after the latest issue of Gunzō, the two of them had combed every bookshop in Shinjuku and come up completely dry.

Then Hazuki remembered the special Gunzō supplement Yamada Kenta had once found at a manga shop, so they'd swept through every major manga store in Shinjuku as well. Still nothing.

After that came the memory of a manga shop in Shibuya, so they'd made the trip over — and found nothing there either.

Hazuki, now running on sheer stubbornness, had then dragged Yamada Kenta through every bookshop and manga store in the area one by one.

It was only when she noticed Yamada Kenta had started sweating that she finally admitted defeat. She glanced around, spotted a café across the street, and pointed.

"Want to take a break over there?"

"We're not going to keep looking?"

"Probably pointless at this point."

"Let's just sit down and eat something."

She pulled out her handkerchief and held it out to him.

"Here. Wipe off the sweat."

Yamada Kenta looked at the handkerchief — her own handkerchief — and politely declined, not wanting to dirty it.

"Thanks, I've got tissues."

He dug a packet out of his bag, dabbed at his forehead, then said, "Let's go take a break over there, then."

Hazuki tucked her handkerchief away without a word.

She turned and smiled. "Yeah, let's get something to drink."

The two of them stepped into the nearby café.

The air inside was thick with the smell of roasting coffee beans.

In a corner of the room, a door opened and closed every so often as young people carrying instruments came and went, and faint sounds of music drifted out from within.

Yamada Kenta and Hazuki both figured out pretty quickly that this was the kind of café that doubled as a livehouse-style bar.

Yamada Kenta was just about to find a seat when his peripheral vision caught a few familiar figures at the window table.

Tsushima Kagami was sitting there, coffee cup in hand, saying something to Sawamura Sayuri across from him.

"Sayuri, how come your rhythm always drags by half a beat in that last section every single time?"

"And right here in this song — that's clearly the back half of a big syncopated beat. Why do you keep rushing in early?"

"Honestly. You nail the same spots earlier in the piece, so why do you start falling apart right at the ending?"

Tsushima Kagami kept pointing out the mistakes Sayuri had made during rehearsal.

Sawamura Sayuri looked utterly aggrieved. "I can't help it — every time we get close to the end, I just get super nervous."

"The more I think 'almost there, haven't messed up yet, I can't mess up now' — the more I mess up!"

"Then just don't think about it."

"My brain doesn't listen to me when I get nervous, it just goes there automatically!"

Tsushima Kagami looked at her with weary resignation.

He tried to think of some useful fix — but couldn't come up with anything new. Every solution he could think of had already been tried during rehearsal. Including having Sayuri think about her doujin for the winter comic market whenever she got tense. None of it had worked.

The words died in his throat before he could say them.

"You're just going to have to figure out how to get past this yourself."

"Huh? Shouldn't that be Kagami's job to figure out?"

Sawamura Sayuri looked at Tsushima Kagami with the dejected air of someone being abandoned.

"What is your brain even for?"

"Use it for something!"

Tsushima Kagami, in a rare display of actual frustration, leaned forward and flicked her on the forehead.

"Ow, stop it, stop it!"

"If you keep doing that I'm going to fail my English exam again!"

Tsushima Kagami sat back, took a calming sip of coffee, and turned to look at the others.

Beside Sawamura Sayuri, Machida Sonoko had the full score laid out on the table and was walking Kosaka Akane through a few issues from today's rehearsal.

Kosaka Akane didn't have any major problems — she had the childhood foundation of classical Western music training across multiple instruments, so apart from some short-term adjustment issues and a little roughness from not having rehearsed together enough, everything else was fine. A few more sessions over the remaining days would sort it out.

Tsushima Kagami glanced over at Shimizu Nayotake beside him.

Today, unusually, Shimizu Nayotake hadn't worn her school uniform despite it being a day off — she was in her regular clothes.

She was sitting next to Tsushima Kagami, working her way through a generous slice of cream cake while leafing through the copy of Gunzō he'd picked up from Fujiwara Bookshop that morning.

Back when Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku were still living in the Bunkyo Ward apartment, Shimizu Nayotake had already learned that Tsushima Kagami was both a serious literary author and a manga artist serialised in an adult magazine.

She'd even learned, on the night she'd kept Yukinoshita Shizuku company before the move, that Shizuku and Tsushima Kagami were not blood-related siblings.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that they'd been willing to tell her — like they'd tell a friend.

No — Shizuku and Kagami had both said it outright: she already was their friend.

And she would keep their secrets the way a child keeps their most beloved sweets tucked away in a precious tin.

Shimizu Nayotake noticed Tsushima Kagami looking at her and glanced up, her expression asking wordlessly whether she'd made any mistakes in rehearsal too.

Tsushima Kagami seemed to read her perfectly, and smiled as he shook his head.

"Nayotake, you were the best of the lot. You could go on stage right now and there wouldn't be a problem."

"Oh, and do you want to order anything else? I did take up your part-time shift and your day off, after all. As compensation, feel free to order more — don't hold back."

Hearing that, Shimizu Nayotake — whose appetite had been awakened by the high-end cream cake unlike anything she'd ever tasted before — couldn't help swallowing quietly as her gaze drifted to the matcha parfait at the next table.

Tsushima Kagami followed her gaze — and in doing so, caught sight of Yamada Kenta passing by, who had also just noticed him.

"Kagami, what a coincidence."

"Didn't expect to run into you here."

"Right, you guys are doing a band performance at the culture festival too, aren't you?" "Is this where you're rehearsing?"

Yamada Kenta greeted him, connecting the dots — Tsushima Kagami had mentioned it before, and this was clearly a livehouse-style café, so it made sense that the group had come here to rehearse.

Tsushima Kagami looked at Yamada Kenta and Hazuki beside him and smiled.

"What a coincidence."

"Just finished rehearsal, taking a little break."

He gestured warmly toward the table. "Come sit with us!"

Yamada Kenta glanced at Hazuki.

Hazuki smiled and gave a small nod. The two of them walked over.

"Nayotake, come sit over here."

Sawamura Sayuri and the others squeezed and shuffled to make room.

Machida Sonoko smiled and called over to Shimizu Nayotake.

Shimizu Nayotake closed the copy of Gunzō and returned it to Tsushima Kagami, then carried her cake over to sit with Sayuri and the others.

Yamada Kenta settled in beside Tsushima Kagami, and Hazuki sat down next to Yamada Kenta.

After Yamada Kenta introduced Hazuki to Sayuri, Shimizu Nayotake, and the rest, everyone exchanged greetings.

Then Tsushima Kagami and the four across from him all turned to look at Yamada Kenta with identical expressions of barely concealed amusement.

Sawamura Sayuri, bursting with gossip, couldn't hold back. "So you two are——"

"Mm!"

Before she could finish, Machida Sonoko's hand shot over and covered her mouth.

Tsushima Kagami smiled and asked instead, "So what brings you two to Shibuya today?"

Yamada Kenta smiled back. "We mainly came out so Hazuki-san could buy a magazine."

"A magazine?"

Everyone looked at him, puzzled.

Yamada Kenta's eyes landed on the copy of Gunzō on Tsushima Kagami's table.

He pointed. "Yeah — Gunzō, actually."

"Hazuki-san and I went all over Shinjuku and couldn't find a copy, so we figured we'd try our luck in Shibuya."

As he said it, he glanced over at Hazuki.

Hazuki, at that moment, was staring fixedly at Tsushima Kagami's copy of Gunzō.

Er...

Yamada Kenta looked at her, transfixed by the magazine, and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hazuki-san?"

Hazuki snapped back to attention. "Sorry."

"That should be the latest issue of Gunzō, right?" She pointed at the copy in front of Tsushima Kagami.

Tsushima Kagami smiled. "It is — the newest issue."

Hazuki's eyes lit up for a moment — then dimmed just as quickly.

She looked away, pretending to gaze out the window as if nothing was on her mind.

Watching her, Yamada Kenta had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She wanted to take a closer look, but was too embarrassed to ask.

It wasn't her magazine — it clearly belonged to someone else who'd obviously been reading it. Barging in would just be rude.

Funny — she was usually so outgoing, the type to get comfortable with total strangers in about thirty seconds, so why was she suddenly shy about this?

He thought back to the Hazuki-san who had been borderline terrifyingly forward with him when they'd first met. And yet, now that the two of them had been working together on the festival committee, he'd noticed she wasn't actually that warm and easy-going with other people at all — if anything, she seemed a little aloof.

Girls really were hard to figure out. [Sailor Uniform-chan] was way simpler.

Tsushima Kagami had been watching all of this.

He smiled quietly, reached into his bag, pulled out a second copy of Gunzō, and held it out to Yamada Kenta.

"Want to read it, Kenta? This one's for you."

Yamada Kenta blinked. "...Is that okay?"

"I had a spare."

"If you want it, it's yours."

Tsushima Kagami pressed the magazine into Yamada Kenta's hands.

"Then I won't say no."

"Thanks, Kagami."

Yamada Kenta took it, then turned and held it out to Hazuki.

"Hazuki-san. Here — for you."

Hazuki froze.

She looked at the brand-new copy of Gunzō in Yamada Kenta's hands. Then she looked over at Tsushima Kagami.

"Is... is this really okay?" she asked in a small voice, as if speaking too loudly might startle this unexpected gift into disappearing.

"I already gave it to Kenta," Tsushima Kagami said with a smile. "What he does with it is entirely up to him."

"That's right — Kagami already gave it to me," Yamada Kenta said. "Don't overthink it, Hazuki-san."

He pressed the copy of Gunzō into her hands.

Hazuki held it with both hands for a moment, then came to her senses and turned quickly to thank Tsushima Kagami with a proper bow.

"Thank you, Yukinoshita-kun."

"You should be thanking Kenta," Tsushima Kagami said, still smiling. "It's his to give now."

Hazuki glanced at Yamada Kenta, then smiled. "I'll thank him properly in a bit."

With that, she carefully opened the front cover.

Her movements were gentle — the way you'd handle something precious.

Then she went still.

There, on the title page, was a handwritten signature.

Five characters: [Master of Dassai-ya] — clearly written by hand.

Hazuki looked up, staring at Tsushima Kagami in disbelief.

"This... is this the signature of Dassai-ya-sensei? The author of The Setting Sun and Hear the Wind Sing?"

Tsushima Kagami smiled and nodded.

"But..."

Hazuki furrowed her brow.

"I've never heard of Dassai-ya-sensei holding a signing event."

"And that author has always kept such a low profile — never appearing publicly..."

Her voice trailed off gradually.

She looked at Tsushima Kagami, eyes full of questions.

He met her gaze, expression mild, and offered no explanation.

Sawamura Sayuri opened her mouth nearby, just about to say "Kagami-kun is the Master of Dassai-ya himself."

Machida Sonoko's hand shot over again and covered her mouth.

Tsushima Kagami turned to Hazuki and said lightly, "I happen to know someone who's acquainted with the author. This copy was a gift from him to me."

Hazuki nodded in understanding. She looked down at the signature on the title page, her fingertip tracing softly across the paper.

Then she raised her head and looked at Tsushima Kagami with a serious expression.

"This is too valuable. I can't accept it."

She tried to pass the magazine back.

Tsushima Kagami didn't take it. Instead, he smiled and looked over at Yamada Kenta.

"I already gave it to Kenta."

"What he does with it is his business."

"Once I've given something to a friend, I don't take it back."

Hazuki paused, then turned to look at Yamada Kenta.

Yamada Kenta smiled and shrugged. "That's just how he is. Keep it."

Hazuki looked at Tsushima Kagami once more, then hugged the magazine tightly to her chest — like she was afraid it might float away.

"Thank you."

She stood up and gave Tsushima Kagami a deep, sincere bow.

Then she straightened up, took a breath, and added something else.

"Also... the last time I left the home economics classroom, I said some awful things about Yukinoshita-kun."

"I'm sorry, Yukinoshita-kun!"

"What awful things?" Sawamura Sayuri immediately leaned in.

Machida Sonoko didn't stop her this time, joining Kosaka Akane and Shimizu Nayotake in turning to look at Hazuki.

Tsushima Kagami raised an eyebrow with interest. "Oh?"

"What did you say?"

"I said you were running a harem in the Manga Research Club."

"Well, that's not exactly breaking news — the school newspaper made it a whole thing." Sawamura Sayuri and the others looked visibly deflated.

Hazuki's face turned a little pink, but she pressed on. "At the time I thought... I thought that with so many girls always around Yukinoshita-kun, he couldn't possibly be a decent person."

"Everyone was saying Yukinoshita-kun must be some experienced player who strings girls along."

"But it turns out Yamada-kun was right."

"Yukinoshita-kun really is a good person."

"I let rumours get to me and judged a book by its cover. I'm really sorry!"

Hazuki bowed again, low and earnest.

Tsushima Kagami knew the school newspaper had spread rumours about him running a harem. But he hadn't realised his reputation had sunk quite this low.

Experienced? What was that supposed to mean?

Tsushima Kagami looked over at Yamada Kenta beside him.

Even Yamada Kenta — who had once been the delinquent type — was, for various reasons, still completely inexperienced in that department. Which made Tsushima Kagami himself something else entirely: pure as the driven snow.

Two whole lifetimes of immaculate virtue, and someone dares slander me like this!

With a sharp smack, Tsushima Kagami brought his hand down on the table in indignation.

The four across from him all startled.

"Who's been spreading filthy rumours about me?!"

"The school newspaper, was it — just you wait until I track you down!"

"I want to set the record straight!"

"Not only do I have zero experience whatsoever——"

"I haven't even had my first kiss!"

And just like that, in front of a full café, Tsushima Kagami had outed himself as a completely inexperienced, never-been-kissed virgin in a fit of righteous fury.

Oh wow.

Even Hazuki was taken aback — why had he suddenly started confessing all this?

"Calm down, have some water."

"We obviously believe you, Kagami."

Yamada Kenta moved quickly to soothe his emotionally compromised best friend.

But the expressions on the faces of Sawamura Sayuri and the others across the table were distinctly off.

Sawamura Sayuri leaned over and murmured in Machida Sonoko's ear.

"So... the thing with the hand..."

"Does that count as experience? Does that still make him a first-timer?"

That question stumped Machida Sonoko, who then leaned over and repeated it quietly into Kosaka Akane's ear.

Kosaka Akane looked completely at a loss for words. After a very long pause, she could only look back at Sawamura Sayuri and shake her head.

The three of them then turned to look at Tsushima Kagami in unison.

Tsushima Kagami noticed their expressions and asked, "What — you don't believe me?"

The three exchanged glances. All three went faintly red at the same time.

"We believe you..."

The words had barely landed before he sensed the atmosphere had gone slightly strange.

Sawamura Sayuri had her head bowed, staring into her coffee cup — but there was a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

Kosaka Akane had turned her face toward the window — but a soft pink had crept up to the tips of her ears.

Machida Sonoko was pressing her lips together, eyes unfocused, seemingly lost in some private thought.

Tsushima Kagami chose to ignore the three of them and their perpetual weirdness, turning instead to Shimizu Nayotake beside him — whose shoulder was trembling slightly in a way that was far too deliberate, her face pulled into an suspiciously rigid expression.

"Nayotake, what's going on with you?"

Shimizu Nayotake said nothing, just waved a hand dismissively.

Then she turned aside and brought a hand up to cover her mouth, her shoulders shaking even harder.

She was thinking about something Yukinoshita Shizuku had told her once, back when they'd been working the same part-time job together.

Shizuku had said she secretly gave Tsushima Kagami a good-morning kiss every day — slipping in while he was still asleep.

And she'd always been fretfully wondering whether that counted as his first kiss.

So... the first kiss — it sounded like that one was already gone.

Oh right — since Kagami just brought up first kisses, that morning kiss of Shizuku's must have been it. I should find a moment to tell her.

Watching the lot of them suddenly acting strange all at once, Tsushima Kagami could only turn helplessly to Yamada Kenta beside him.

"It's getting close to dinner time."

"Want to grab something to eat together?"

Yamada Kenta was just about to say yes when his sleeve was tugged gently.

He looked down to find Hazuki shooting him a meaningful look.

"Sorry," Hazuki said, standing with an apologetic smile.

"We actually have somewhere to be. We should head off."

Tsushima Kagami looked slightly surprised but didn't push. He just nodded.

"Let's get together another time, then."

Hazuki thanked Tsushima Kagami once more, then took Yamada Kenta's arm and headed for the door.

Outside the café, Yamada Kenta glanced back through the glass at Tsushima Kagami and the others.

Then he looked at Hazuki walking ahead of him.

"Why didn't you want to stay and eat?"

Hazuki didn't turn around. She just hugged her copy of Gunzō close and walked on, her steps light.

"Yukinoshita-kun really is a good person."

"The whole harem thing — clearly just a rumour after all."

She paused, then reached up and touched the hair clip in her fringe.

It was the little rabbit clip — the same one Yamada Kenta had used as a reference when he'd helped her sew her clothes in the home economics classroom that day.

Yamada Kenta noticed now, too: Hazuki-san, who usually cycled through a different small animal clip every single day, had been wearing this same one every day recently.

"Though..."

She turned to look at him, one eye closed in a little wink.

"What those girls around him are thinking — that I couldn't say."

Yamada Kenta blinked — then laughed.

He thought of the girls' reactions back there in the café.

Some things didn't need to be spelled out.

He quickened his pace to fall into step beside Hazuki.

The two of them walked side by side into the afternoon crowds of Shibuya.

____

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